If Electric Cars Are Good for Reducing Emissions, They Could Be Even Better with Electric Roads

Abstract

This research investigates carbon footprint impacts for full fleet electrification of Swedish passenger car travel in combination with different charging conditions, including electric road system (ERS) that enables dynamic on-road charging. The research applies a prospective life cycle analysis framework for estimating carbon footprints of vehicles, fuels, and infrastructure. The framework includes vehicle stock turnover modeling of fleet electrification and modeling of optimal battery capacity for different charging conditions based on Swedish real-world driving patterns. All new car sales are assumed to be electric after 2030 following phase-out policies for gasoline and diesel cars. Implementing ERS on selected high-traffic roads could yield significant avoided emissions in battery manufacturing compared to the additional emissions in ERS construction. ERS combined with stationary charging could enable additional reductions in the cumulative carbon footprint of about 12–24 million tons of CO 2 over 30 years (2030–2060) compared to an electrified fleet only relying on stationary charging. The range depends on uncertainty in emission abatement in global manufacturing, where the lower is based on Paris Agreement compliance and the higher on current climate policies. A large share of the reduction could be achieved even if only a small share of the cars adopts the optimized battery capacities.

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“…These include the nations of Canada, Chile, and some individual states of the US in the Americas, and Spain, France, Iceland, the UK, Norway, Denmark, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Greece in Europe, with varying target years from 2025 to 2050 [51]. The transition from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles has been investigated in terms of carbon-reduction potential, showing a reduction in emissions of up to 38%, predominantly in vehicle and fuel lifecycles and tailpipe emissions [52]. In Japan, the target for the ICE phaseout is 2035; however, this phaseout also includes the use of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).…”